Having twice battled the Newcastle Knights in golden point in 2016, the Raiders will be looking for an emphatic victory when they take on the Novocastrians at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Here are the five things we can't wait to see on Sunday.
A thrilling finish? Hopefully not
Despite finishing on opposite ends of the table last year, the Knights proved to be the achilles heel of the Raiders with both encounters going right down to the wire. In round three there was nothing to split the two teams, with the match finishing in a 24-all draw after the Raiders had earlier held a 16-0 lead. The golden point period was notably wild, with seven field goal attempts missing the sticks.
A few months later the pair met once again and sent a big crowd at GIO Stadium into a frenzy with an exhilarating finish. After falling behind by 22 points, the Raiders mounted a monumental comeback, finished off by Jordan Rapana who collected a wayward Blake Austin field goal attempt to score next to the posts and secure a memorable golden point victory.
Will we see another crazy finish on Sunday? For the sake of our blood pressure, hopefully not!
Mother’s Day
Forget flowers and chocolates, treat your mum on Mother’s Day by enjoying some RTT (Raiders Time Together).
The last time the Raiders played a game on Mother’s Day was back in round nine, 2013, when they also came up against the Newcastle Knights, smashing them 44-14 after piling on 32 unanswered points in the second half.
Playing the Knights on Mother’s Day once again four years later, let's hope for another similar result!
Wearing the jersey with pride
For the first time ever, all 16 NRL teams will wear Indigenous jerseys this weekend to celebrate Indigenous round. Both the Raiders and the Knights will be proudly wearing their jerseys on Sunday which will be sure to spark some extra enthusiasm in the players.
In past years, the Indigenous jersey has brought a mixed bag of results for the Raiders, going down to the Dragons 34-16 in 2014 and the Tigers 20-18 in 2015, before securing an important win last year against the Cowboys. Indigenous Raiders fullback Jack Wighton bagged a double in the 26-12 victory over the Cowboys.
Will the real forward pack please stand up
When on song, the Raiders forward pack is one of the best in the NRL. Against the Bulldogs in round nine, the green machine’s big men were handed a lesson up the middle.
The Bulldogs ran for over 400 more metres than the Raiders. The best for the Raiders was Junior Paulo who ran for 185 metres, which would have only been third best for the Bulldogs forward pack.
You can bet Ricky will be looking for a much tougher and fired up performance from the Raiders engine room against the Knights. Stay tuned for huge matches from our big boppers.
Improving the record at Newy
The Raiders don’t have fond memories of playing in Newcastle, only leaving Mcdonald Jones Stadium with the two points, four times in their last 15 matches.
Having only won one game away from home to start the year, the Raiders need start their improving their away performances by winning on Sunday.
Agree or disagree with the five things we can't wait to see? Head over to our Facebook Page and let us know your thoughts.
